1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for processing images, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for improving the quality of an image of an enlarged portion when a portion selected from a preview image is enlarged.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an image sensor is mounted in image processing devices such as cameras, camcorders and webcams, and the image sensor captures images, converts the captured images into electrical signals, and converts the electrical image signals into digital image signals. The image signals are displayed on an image output unit. These image processing devices provide a variety of screen control schemes, such as, for example, a scaling scheme.
The existing mono camera-based input image scaling schemes include a digital zoom scheme and an advanced zoom scheme.
The digital zoom scheme is used in a preview step and the like, in which a user may view captured images in advance, and this scheme can upscale selected areas by applying a software implemented resize. Accordingly, the digital zoom scheme may enlarge or upscale an area that a user selects from an image received through one image sensor, and display it together with the input image. However, high resolution image signals are not required for preview, to achieve fast processing of image signals. That is, the digital zoom scheme is used to process low-resolution input images, so enlarged images may have low resolution, causing demand for the improvement in image quality.
Conversely, the advanced zoom scheme enlarges the area that a user selects from an image having the same size as that of one image sensor, so the enlarged image may have high resolution. However, the advanced zoom scheme can show only the area selected by the user at high resolution, but may not show an input image other than the area selected by the user, together with an image corresponding to the area selected by the user.
As described above, the digital zoom scheme outputs an input image and an image of an enlarged portion on separate screens, as different small screens are provided on the entire screen, similar to the Picture-In-Picture (PIP) function, so the user may simultaneously view the input image and the selected portion. However, the selected portion may undergo degradation of image quality. Conversely, the advanced zoom scheme may ensure high resolution for the selection portion, but may not allow the user to simultaneously view the input image and the selected portion.